Coaching for Literacy

For
so many of us, it can be hard to believe that a large segment of our country’s
population cannot read or write. Yet, illiteracy is a silent malady that
affects millions in terms of their ability to function in our ever-evolving
computer age, to earn a decent living, even to do things as simple as read a
street sign or a menu. Coaching for
Literacy is one of hundreds of non-profit organizations nationwide that is
trying to do something about it, but on a larger scale and using a concept that
that is truly unique.

Kappa Alpha Order brother Ryan Viner (Alpha Upsilon–Mississippi ’06) is the executive director of Coaching for Literacy, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The sports-centered concept of the 501(c)(3) is the brainchild of two former Memphis University School high school students, Jonathan Wilfong and Andrew Renshaw, who saw a need to help illiterate citizens who often suffer in silence. Wilfong is now a student at SMU, and Renshaw is a student at Vanderbilt. Both schools have Coaching for Literacy chapters.

Viner
says that the illiteracy statistics in the United States are shocking, and that
his organization is filling a vital need. “Twenty percent—one out of five—of
our high school graduates are functionally illiterate today,” Viner says.
“That’s not counting the dropouts. This means they are not literate enough to
fill out a job application, to fill out an insurance form or read a
prescription. The reality is that our educational system in America is failing,
and a large part of our population—one out of seven adults—is illiterate. We
could go on ad nauseum about the
problem. But Jonathan and Andrew wanted to start an organization to make a
difference, and we believe that the more people know about the problem, the
more they can be a part of the solution.”

“What
we do is raise awareness and financial support using the power of sports,” Viner
continues. “We work with sports teams—their athletic departments, coaches,
front offices—to obtain two all-access passes to one game. We call this the
‘Assistant Coach’s Program.’ We then sell the passes to fans of a particular
team, with those fans making a donation for the passes. We then give that
donation to a literacy program in that particular community. The fans get to
have a good time and also have the satisfaction of having helped those who need
help learning to read and write.”

Viner
then uses the opportunity to help market the organization and the cause it’s fighting
for. “To promote what we’re doing, I may appear for an interview on the radio
with the coach of the team in that community to help publicize both the team
and our mission,” he says. “So this is how the coaches and the teams get behind
what we do. In 2015 we had 18 NCAA programs we worked with. Names like UCLA,
Kansas State, Florida State … and we also recently worked with our first NBA
franchise, the Washington Wizards. We’re excited to be working on enlisting more
teams all the time.” Coaching for Literacy was recently featured in an issue of
Sports Illustrated.

“We
really see ourselves as having the importance of a Susan G. Komen Foundation,
the Wounded Warrior Project, Autism Speaks, and other great organizations,”
Viner says. “It seems that, on that kind of level, nobody is doing for literacy
what those organizations do for their causes. It’s a problem that no one seems
to have a really good idea of how to solve. So we’re addressing that issue
through sports, something that millions of Americans enjoy and can identify
with.”

Viner
says that he would like to see his KA brothers play a role in eradicating
illiteracy, and that there are various ways in which everyone can participate.
“I
would encourage everyone to get involved, to see what they can do on a local
level to be part of the solution,” he says. “I would really like to challenge
Kappa Alpha’s members to watch the “STATS” video on our website or our Facebook
page to learn more about the illiteracy problem. They can really make a difference
in their communities, and on their campuses, by donating to or volunteering
with a literacy program in their community, or maybe by even contacting us
about starting a chapter on their own campus. For instance, there are a lot of
KAs in our Ole Miss chapter.” Currently there are Coaching for Literacy chapters on
five college campuses: the University of Memphis, SMU, Vanderbilt, the
University of Mississippi, and Mississippi State.

“I
think it’s incumbent upon all of us to get involved, because this is really
everybody’s problem,” Viner says. “And I think it’s a natural fit for the men
of Kappa Alpha Order.”

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